Airtel hikes DTH tariffs second time in a row

Following in the footsteps of Tata Sky, Bharti Airtel has now hiked DTH tariffs for its Digital TV services across India. The Mittal owned telecom giant hiked DTH tariffs up to 10 percent in entry level monthly packs which are subscribed by almost 80 percent of total active Digital TV users.

Airtel’s DTH business which expanded sharply during last few quarters, thanks to cable TV digitisation process has now more than 12.4 million customers and generates a strong ARPU of Rs 232.

The company has hiked the rates of its Value Prime package to Rs 285 from earlier price of Rs 276. In the last one year, Airtel has pushed up the rates of this pack 3 times. While for popular mid-level family pack Value Max; one will now have to pay Rs 315 now instead of earlier pricing of Rs 306.

In Delhi, the capital region of the country Airtel DTH customers have to pay much more than rates offered by local cable operators. Similarly South Indian customers who have subscribed to entry level Super Value pack have to pay Rs 243 as the prices got increased by Rs 16. However, prices of high value packs and charges for HD channels remains unchanged.

Package

Region

Old Rates

New Rates

Value Prime

Delhi

Rs 276

Rs 294

Rest of India (except

South India)

Rs 276

Rs 285

Value Max

Delhi

Rs 306

Rs 324

Rest of India (except South India)

Rs 306

Rs 315

Super Value

South India

Rs 227

Rs 243

Compared to other DTH operators, Airtel enjoys better ARPU; and this revision would improve the margins for the company which has been focusing more to improve customer service and satisfaction to retain customers from moving to other DTH operators.